First and Last and Everything Changes
by Jessie Blackwood
Summary: Omegaverse Torchwood. In the 51st century Jack joined the Time Agency to avoid his fate as an Omega. Now on Earth in the 21st century, he inhabits in a world before humans have evolved into Alphas, Betas and Omegas. Until he meets a certain Welshman, that is, and realizes that everything is beginning to change. Well, it is the 21st Century.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Characters owned by RTD and the BBC. I don't own any of it, except maybe the idea for the story, etc. etc. etc., no infringement of copyright intended, no money being made, etc, etc. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. **

** Warning: Explicit for adult theme. Alpha/Beta/Omega universe, mpreg and possible knotting (not decided yet) in future chapters. **

_**Unfamiliar Ground**  
_

_The paradox of Torchwood is the predictability of its unpredictability,_ Ianto thought as the cog door rolled back before him. While he always knew what he would see when the door rolled back, he never knew what the day would bring. When that door revealed the Hub in its predictable awesomeness that he never completely got used to, the lofty ceiling harbouring the usual dark shadows, the habitual blue glow from the computer monitors competing with the whiff of slightly peaty air from the greenhouse and the hint of coffee from the kitchen area, Ianto was on familiar ground. A recognisable screech reached his ears and Myfanwy—Torchwood mascot and resident dinosaur—soared overhead as he stepped inside, casting her giant shadow over him as she dipped and dived. She would be most likely hunting chocolate—preferably dark—from her favourite member of the team. Ianto grinned, fished in a pocket and brought out a small bar of Bournville, her favourite, and opened it, keeping half his attention on where she was while he did so. He tossed it into the air as she swooped low, and laughed as she deftly caught it with a snap and retreated to her lair, triumphant.

Ianto marched over to the kitchen to prepare the coffee, checking his watch as he went. He was first in as per usual, slightly early this morning. Coffee would be ready by the time the first of them showed; usually Tosh, followed by Gwen and then Owen bringing up the rear, probably slightly the worse for wear after another night on the town. _Oh yeah, the predictability of Torchwood._

There was, as yet, no sign of Jack. That was when Ianto realised that something was slightly off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was making him feel uneasy. There was something... He shook his head to clear it and then it came to him. The smell. It was Jack's unique pheromones that were filling his nose. The more he concentrated on it, the more the scent overpowered the other smells that were ever-present, like coffee and antiseptic and damp. Ianto stopped what he was doing and stood there, trying to work out what was wrong. Abandoning the coffee machine he made his way to Jack's office. The man just about lived at the Hub, usually in his bunker beneath the floor. The bunker was closed this morning, the office abandoned.

"Jack?" Ianto called. There was no answer. Frowning, Ianto called again, checking to see if there was a message on the desk or anything to say where Jack had gone. If he had gone. It didn't feel as if he had._ Odd,_ Ianto thought. _How can I simply know he's here by the fact it doesn't feel like he's not?_ He called once more, and then walked to the door, aiming to go back to get the coffee before the team arrived. A noise from behind him made him pause. The bunker hatch had opened. "Jack?" Ianto walked back to the room, unaware he had also drawn his gun. He reached the bunker and peered in. Jack was lying on the bed, shirtless. Ianto was almost overwhelmed. The smell...

"Ianto?" The voice was so quiet he almost missed it.

"Jack? What's the matter? Do I need to call Owen?"

"No," came the quiet reply. "He knows. There's nothing more he can do that he isn't doing already..."

"Jack, are you sick? You're scaring me. What's the matter?"

"Ianto, you and I need to talk."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Sitting across from each other with Jack's big desk between them, Ianto felt like a schoolboy called to the Headmaster's office. He felt sure there was something majorly wrong and he was about to be told something he didn't want to hear. But Jack simply sat there, giving off such a strong scent that it nearly made Ianto drool. It was having an unwelcome effect on him. Beneath his outward veneer of calm, beneath his suit, he was hard, the first stirrings of desire pooling in his belly making him feel slightly dizzy and off balance.

"So..." Ianto tried to break the oppressive silence. "What's the matter?"

"Ianto, you know I'm different to other men..."

"I know you're immortal. I'd say that qualifies, wouldn't you?"

"Apart from that, I'm not human in the same sense you are."

"You're from the future. I'd say that makes you just about as different as you can get. I'm from Newport, me. Nothing special."

Jack laughed. "Oh, Ianto, you're more special than you know. I need to explain something to you and then I need you to make a decision and I haven't got a lot of time. So please, listen to me?"

Ianto nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

Jack leaned back and took a deep breath. "Where I come from, humans have evolved. As a race, we began to grow infertile so we began to change physically. We evolved into three distinct groups. We called them Alphas, Betas and Omegas."

"Why not Gammas?" Ianto asked and at Jack's puzzled look, he added "Well, alpha, beta and gamma are A, B and C in Greek. Why Omega? That's the last letter of the Greek alphabet." Again, Jack chuckled.

"Irony I guess. Where I come from Alphas are the top dogs, the most intelligent, the most highly developed. Their IQ is off the scale, they were the top 10% of the population, the clever ones. The Betas were just below them, the ordinary ones, the ones who make up the majority. Their intelligence was average. Then came the Omegas. They were the last in line, hence the name, and they were controlled by Alphas and supervised to prevent indiscriminate breeding. Omegas are unable to resist their heats, you see. When in the throes of one, an Omega has a compulsion to breed with anyone, not just an Alpha. Anyone who will fuck them. It's an hormonal response, not a rational one."

"Soooo, when an Omega is in heat, then... pretty much anyone can..." Ianto waved a hand around vaguely.

"Yeah, pretty much. Not all of them are dumb though, and they're certainly not animals. Some are quite high IQ, but not as high as most Alphas. Their status as people was certainly no more than second class citizens though, almost nil in some communities. They worked as servants, cleaners, skivvies for Alpha families. They're the breeders, the men as well as the women. In my time, Betas who wanted kids had to apply for permission and could only have kids with an Omega surrogate, usually someone who was bonded to an Alpha. Betas are fertile, but infrequently. Omegas are very fertile, but their cycles are based on heats..."

"Like animals?"

"Well, every 90 days or so."

"And that's when an Alpha can have them?"

"Well, they're human beings. They can have sex any time, but only during a heat can they conceive. That's when Alphas want them, so they can breed them, produce heirs for their overblown estates so the money and the family name are preserved."

"But there are no Alphas here... Why, are you one?"

"No, Ianto, I'm not an Alpha. I'm..." Jack went quiet and suddenly, Ianto understood.

"Oh, you mean... ah, right. You're an Omega. Well, that makes a lot of sense actually. I mean, when you said you could taste contraceptives in the rain that time, and you quipped about never doing that again, I never thought you actually meant you could... you know, have kids. I thought you were joking."

"I wish it were true, Ianto, but it's not. I'm an Omega, I can have kids."

"So, does that mean that you...experience these heats then?" Jack nodded. "But why are you telling me?"

"I know you can smell me, Ianto."

"Can't everybody? Your bloody 51st century pheromones are strong enough they should be able to smell them in Swansea." Jack was shaking his head.

"Sorry, Ianto, but not everybody can smell it. That night, when we caught Myfanwy, you wondered what aftershave I was wearing. When I said I wasn't wearing any, when I explained it away as 51st Century pheromones, I was lying a little. I was days away from my heat, Ianto, I was putting out when we met that night. And you could smell it. I'm afraid that was part of what got you the job."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it was. It's also the reason I resisted shooting you after what you did with Lisa. It's the reason I kept you on here. Ianto, there's a reason why you can scent me like that, a reason for the interest you take in me, for the attraction between us. When I arrived on Earth in 1869, I realised there were no Alphas. The Alpha Gene was in its infancy, and so I was safe. I still had to suffer my heats, but it was bearable, because there were no alphas to worry about, no alphas to insist I bond with them and breed. When I was back home, on Boshane, the Alphas ruled our community. Omegas were third class citizens and forced to breed with Alphas. It wasn't a good life, Ianto, believe me. Omegas were open to abuse and neglect. For a long time I was protected by my family. My father and mother were prominent betas, and they made sure I was cared for and protected while telling me what I was and what would happen to me. So I knew, I wasn't worried. Trouble was, when the attack came that took my brother away from me, I was no longer safe from my own people, never mind the aliens who sought to kidnap and sell us into slavery. I was vulnerable in a way I'd never been before. That was when I took a chance and joined the Time Agency. They had an amnesty for anyone who wanted to volunteer, they would even take Omegas. So I joined up. They gave me suppressant drugs and I was fine for a while." Jack stopped, took a breath and tried to steady himself. "Sorry, Ianto, I've not got a hell of a lot of time..." A fine sheen of sweat covered Jack's brow.

"You're going into heat? How long will it last?"

"About three days as a rule. Owen synthesizes a drug to help me suppress it but of late, it isn't working as well. I think it's my close proximity to you that is part of that. He just hasn't got the technology or the chemicals to do a perfect job." Jack shrugged. "So I spend the time in my bunker, down there, locked in. It's soundproofed, comfortable, I come out at night when everyone's gone so I can shower and change."

"That's why you disappear every quarter. You're not in London for a UNIT meeting, you're here? Down there? Alone?" Jack nodded. Ianto scowled at the injustice of it.

"It's for the best, Ianto. I'm not completely sane when it happens."

"You're not Jekyll and Hyde," Ianto muttered. "You're Jack, our friend, and you shouldn't be alone." Jack smiled.

"Thank you, Ianto," he whispered. He exhaled a deep sigh. "That night you scented me, I knew. You're different too, Ianto. You're higher than average IQ, you can smell my scent, you're attracted to me..."

"Everybody's attracted to you. What makes me so special?"

"But you can _taste_ it, Ianto, you can _feel_ it, it's making you hard right now. You're responding to me being in heat. You scented me that night. I'm sorry, Ianto, but Owen did a test for me on your blood. He isolated something like the Alpha Gene, its predecessor anyway. You're the precursor to an Alpha, the nearest thing this century has to one. It's the 21st century and everything changes. Haven't I always been saying that? This is when it starts. People begin to show the Alpha/Omega genes in their DNA around about now, growing in number until the end of the 21st Century shows a marked increase in those of above average intelligence. Alphas are on the rise and you're one of them..."

"And the decision you want me to make?"

"You have to decide if you want to be a father, Ianto. If you want to bond with me and breed me and be my Alpha... Because if you don't, I don't think you can continue working here anymore. I'm not going to be able to stand being around an Alpha who doesn't want me."

**Reviews are welcome. What did you think folks?**


	2. That Went Well

**Disclaimer: Characters owned by RTD and the BBC. I don't own any of it, except maybe the idea for the story, etc. etc. etc., no infringement of copyright intended, no money being made, etc, etc. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. **

**Warning: Explicit, M for adult theme. Jack/Ianto **

**OKAY, this is a short one because I am on holiday for a fortnight so please don't expect updates until then. Sorry, but we all need a break. Apologies for those of you who are waiting for an update on Calling Doctor Jones or However Improbable (my Sherlock fic). I promise I will post the new chapters on my return when they might possibly be finished. Thanks for sticking with these. Hugs to you all.  
**

_"That Went Well..."_

"Where would I go, Jack?" Ianto was panicked. "This isn't fair. You're asking me to accept that I'm a… what did you call it? An _Alpha_? Makes me sound like a wolf. And what the fuck are you talking about with this stuff about being a father? Do I want to have kids with you?" Ianto was nonplussed. "What the fuck am I supposed to say to this? And you, just look at you, you're like a cat, fawning all over me..." He tried to stand away, and a look of hurt crossed Jack's face. "I can't do this! What's more, it isn't fair of you to face me with this and expect me to be okay about it! I'm not an automaton, Jack. I have feelings."

"So do I. I've suppressed those feelings for more than half a century. Come back when you're 130 and tell me you find it hard..."

"Not fair, Jack," Ianto snapped, calling him out again. "You insist on not being fair. You've had 130 years to get used to this, I haven't." Ianto pulled away, looking panicked. "I tell you what, Jack. I'll come back in a few days, when you're over this thing. Then we can talk, rationally and sensibly. I'll have had a few days to think this through and you... you'll be less emotional and...I dunno, whatever it is you're experiencing with this. Okay? Okay. This is me, going home..." He sketched a wave and dashed out, followed by Tosh and Gwen's curious stares and the cog door rolling shut on his departure. Stunned into inaction by Ianto's outburst, Jack just sat there, trying to process what had happened.

"Well done, Jack. That went well."

"Shut up, Owen."

"Fine, fine. Just remember who makes sure you can suppress those heats of yours enough to make them bearable. Now, accept that you royally fucked up there with the Tea Boy and get yourself into your bunker. As of tomorrow, you are officially in London for that top secret summit meeting..."

**0o0o0o0o0**

The knock on Ianto's front door later that night was a surprise. Nobody visited him, except his neighbour, Mrs Pollitti, and the old partially-deaf Polish lady wasn't wont to visit him at nearly midnight. "Open up, Tea Boy, I know you're not asleep yet and there's a cat out here that is eyeing me suspiciously..." The door opened and a rather wild-eyed Ianto greeted him.

"Owen? What the fuck are you doing here at this time?"

"Can I come in and tell you? It's a bit nippy out here..." Torchwood's MO stepped gratefully inside as Ianto rolled his eyes predictably and stepped aside to give him access. The warmth of the living room was welcome and Owen threw his jacket on the back of a chair and slumped into the seat with a sigh. "Any coffee?" he asked hopefully and Ianto couldn't help but smile at the wistful expression. Owen rarely did _wistful_.

"Sure, yes, gimme a minute." Ianto disappeared into his kitchen. "So how is our illustrious leader?" he called without enthusiasm. Owen huffed a small sigh.

"He's infuriating, exasperating and irritating. He can be a royal pain in the arse, he acts like a first class bastard and a crass idiot and then goes and saves the world." Ianto chuckled as Owen appeared in the kitchen door, hands thrust deeply into his pockets and a weary smile in place.

"And how on earth can we get angry with a guy like that? I know..." He presented Owen with a mug of caffeine exactly as he liked it and smiled at the doctor. Owen sipped, sighed, and smiled.

"Jack was...upset, that you acted like that. I can't blame you though. He was a bit of a twat, facing you with all of that all at once."

"He wasn't joking that day then? He can have babies?"

"Oh yeah, uterus and everything." Ianto looked shocked.

"But that isn't biologically possible."

"Actually it is. A long time in our future, the human race begins to die out, apparently because we start to turn infertile. So geneticists started to look to other races for the solution. There's a whole module in 51st Century history lessons which deal with the riots and the rights groups that sprang up in the wake of it all."

"Is that what happened to Jack?"

"He was born much later when all that was history to him. We were interbred with other races, particularly those who had males who could bear kids as well as the females. The Scientists worked out the best way to combat the infertility was to allow men as well as women to breed. Trouble was the geneticists seem to have gone a bit far. Christ, and we're worried about genetically modified crops. We changed, became ruled by a kind of class system. Alphas were the cleverest, strongest and most dominant and some were even psionic. Omegas were the baby producers and the bottom of the pecking order. Betas were your ordinary bods in the street..."

"Like you, you mean?" Ianto snarked.

"Hey, watch it., Tea Boy. I'm a born Alpha, I am, mate." Owen took a gulp of coffee, grinned, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Now it seems you're one for real. Not sure whether to be sorry for you or envious."

"I don't know what to do." Ianto sipped his own coffee and stared off into the middle distance, eyes unfocused. "I mean, he's being unfair. It's not my fault I'm a prototype Alpha...Owen, Torchwood is my life, what will I do without it?"

"You're going to leave then?" Owen was surprised. "I didn't figure you'd back out like that. You seemed pretty hung up on our good captain."

"I am. Not sure Torchwood is the place to bring up a baby though, is it? And I'm mortal. Even if its mother can't die, its father can."

"Well, I'm not going to advise you either way. I came to check that you were okay because he asked me to. You are, so job done. I'll get off home. Ta for the coffee."

"You could crash on the sofa, or in the spare room if you like. It's late..."

"Nah, not that late. I'll call a cab. G'night Ianto. See you tomorrow. Jack is locked in his bunker, you'll be safe...Although... maybe it might be best if you don't, on second thought. You'd react to his scent too much and he might pick up on yours. The others are not privvy to this, so no, do us all a favour and stay away. Come back on Thursday, it should be safe by then." Ianto nodded agreement and saw the doctor to the door.

"Stay out of trouble," Ianto suggested as Owen walked away.

"You too, Tea Boy."

**0o0o0o0o0**

Jack lay in a haze of exhaustion on his bunk under the sealed hatch of his bunker, aware that this heat was the worst since Owen had begun synthesizing the suppressant for him five years previously. Owen had since refined it, but he lacked the two major ingredients he needed to make it work perfectly. It was better than nothing but Jack had needed twice as much as the last time for it to come anywhere near success and he feared that next time, he would need too much to make taking it safe. If Ianto didn't agree to his suggestion, if he didn't want to be bound to Jack, or want their babies, then frankly, Jack had no clue what to do. He had no desire to go back to suffering a full-blown heat without either the drugs or a willing Alpha to help him ride the fierce waves of want and need and bring him out the other side with his sanity, not to mention his body, intact.

The Doctor had been there last time, easily able to synthesize the required hormone suppressant that he needed _to subdue the beast_, as the doctor had put it. John had been there before that, back when they were paired off in the Time Agency, when they had been stuck in the time bubble that John swore lasted five years and Jack knew lasted only two, because he knew he had heats every six months. He had suffered four of them in their time there because he ran out of suppressants a few months into their forced sojourn. So far, in this time, on this earth, there was only one Alpha and Ianto was it. If he refused, and really Jack could not blame him if he did, then there was no one else. His immortality couldn't protect him either. He couldn't simply die and reset himself. This was part of him, not something acquired by accident since he had become immortal. He couldn't die to shed it. He had to suffer the heat through and pine for someone and something he couldn't have. God, it was going to be a miserable few days.

_**Reviews welcome as always.** _


	3. Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law

**Disclaimer: Characters owned by RTD and the BBC. I don't own any of it, except maybe the idea for the story, etc. etc. etc., no infringement of copyright intended, no money being made, etc, etc. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.**

**Warning: Explicit for adult theme. Alpha/Beta/Omega universe, mpreg and possible knotting (not decided yet) in future chapters.**

_**Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law**_

Jack woke to find that finally the horrendous feelings of need had subsided but left him feeling wrung out and disgusting. He dragged himself out of his bunker and padded down to the washroom, standing under the shower for ages, letting the hot water pound his skin until it tingled. He had managed to stave off the worst of the craving using some...toys. There was no other word for them. They were not the same though. He had only experienced one Alpha in his life and Captain John Hart had been the best. Unstable, maybe a touch psychotic, but he had cared. Their daughter had died unborn though, courtesy of the hard life they lead as a Time Agents and the chaotic effect time travel had on the body. It was shortly after that when Jack had left, running into the Doctor, and then being resurrected by Rose. Now it seemed she had condemned him to be an Omega for all eternity._ Oh, joy. _

_Three days isn't a lot to think things through,_ Ianto thought morosely. Although he actually found that the prospect of being a dad didn't scare him as much as he had thought it might. He worried about Jack though, although he didn't need to worry about him on a physical level. The man never stayed dead but if he got pregnant, then would that apply to the baby as well? Logic told Ianto that it wouldn't, based upon what he knew of Jack's ability. Ianto needed to talk to him about priorities. They needed to talk about a lot of things and soon.

Watching the sun set over Cardiff, sipping coffee and letting his mind drift, Ianto let himself wonder what it might be like to leave Torchwood._ If the reason was right, I would, _he thought, imagining what it might be like to bring up their kids, to hear children's voices, laughter and cries, echoing around a proper home, not this empty flat. He knew he would end up being the house-husband; it was a foregone conclusion and actually made more sense. Jack would never be a stay-at-home dad. _No dashing off again with the Doctor though, not when we have kids,_ Ianto decided.

When he returned to work, Ianto turned up early, hearing the shower in the washroom on full, sniffing the now-faint scent of Jack as he went about his ablutions._ Mm,_ Ianto thought, _a wet Jack. Now there's a nice thing to start the day._ He went about brewing the coffee and making tea for Tosh, lining up the mugs as he usually did. Jack's blue and white striped one, his own white one with the Torchwood logo (seriously, someone had actually had Torchwood mugs printed), Tosh's flower print mug, Gwen's red one, Owen's black one. As he was pouring, Jack came into view, glanced his way very briefly, then made tracks for his office, not venturing to speak._ Maybe doesn't trust himself,_ Ianto considered.

By the time Owen's coffee was made the others were arriving and he went round handing out the drinks, making small talk. Owen cast him a look but didn't say anything. He took Jack's coffee in last, closing the door behind him. "Morning, sir," Ianto said conversationally, placing the mug on the desk. Jack just grunted. "Jack, we need to talk..." Jack looked up at him but his eyes were haunted._ Sleepless nights and hormonal stress will do that to you,_ Ianto supposed. Jack actually reminded him of his sister shortly after David had been born, so tired she looked wrecked, all hormonal and exhausted. Ianto took a seat and waited, sipping carefully. Jack just looked at him. "So, Jack, I've had time to think things through a little," Ianto began, then his voice failed him. _God in Heaven, how can I do this?_

"You don't want this, do you?" Jack said eventually, defeat in his voice. "Can't blame you, really. It's a lot to come to terms with, this Alpha Omega crap. I thought I was out and away, but here you are...a real prototype Alpha, scenting me again..." There was resignation and hurt in Jack's voice. He dropped his gaze away from Ianto's. God, but the man looked vulnerable. It was so unlike Jack to be so defeatist. Maybe the failure of his suppressants was weighing heavily on him, Ianto considered. To be left without anything to help him...

"Jack, first off, do not presume to know what I want," Ianto began assertively. If he was going to get through this then he would have to find some assertiveness from somewhere. "You never have understood me, not really. Second, this needs talking through, rationally, sensibly. We are talking children here, Jack. It's not simply a matter of how we fit this relationship around Torchwood. We cannot bring new life into the world without making sure it is kept safe, nurtured and cared for. Torchwood and kids are not words that should occupy the same sentence after all. I expect you would want me to be the house parent. I can't imagine you being the one to bring them up and look after them, take 'em to school and stuff. Education might be a sticking point anyway. I mean, where the hell in cardiff can you put kids in school where the fact they have two dads wouldn't be an issue? We would need a bigger place anyway, a proper house. How many children would we end up with? Is there any birth control you can go onto?"

"Woah, Ianto... enough. Are you _seriously_ considering this as a viable direction?" Jack sounded incredulous.

"Of course I am, Jack. How the bloody hell can you think I wouldn't?"

"I...well, I..." For once the great Captain Jack Harkness was lost for words.

"I...have _feelings_...for you," Ianto admitted. "Strong ones. I don't understand them all but they're real. I don't want to leave you, not like this. If having a relationship with you means kids, well...okay then. I don't want to leave Torchwood, but more importantly I don't want to leave _you_. So, if this is what it takes to stay, then...count me in."

Jack just sat there, coffee forgotten, staring at Ianto in disbelief. "You...you want kids, with me? Really?" His voice was awed and soft.

"I always did want a family, Jack. That much was a given. I guess I'd pretty much given up on those dreams though. After all, Torchwood doesn't have a pension plan and there is no way I would chance leaving any kids of mine fatherless. Look, we still need to talk but I'm not planning on going anywhere, I'm not leaving you. Okay?"

"Okay," Jack breathed, rising from behind the desk and coming round to grab Ianto into a hug. "Thank you, Ianto," he said softly. "I have no idea what to say..."

"I can't imagine you lost for words," Ianto said, inhaling Jack's clean scent, his Omega scent, and revelling in the fact that Jack was his. For a moment, a possessive feeling rose within him, almost aggressive in its intensity. Jack was his, and only his, and he would fight anyone who threatened that. Jack was looking at him, smiling slightly.

"It's the Alpha gene," he explained. "Around me, you feel territorial, possessive, the Alpha wolf. It's what my scent does to you. You already see me as your mate, yours and nobody else's. All that's left is for you to mark me, make me yours, give me a sign so nobody else will touch me."

"I didn't think there were any more Alphas though."

"Well, none we know about," Jack said. "If you have it, there might be others, but they might not know what they are. Better safe than sorry though. If you mark me, then my scent will change, it'll make other Alphas back off, they'll be able to tell that I'm bonded."

"How do I do it?"

"Use your teeth," Jack explained. "It's usually done during the first heat together though. You sink your teeth into my shoulder muscle, near where my neck joins my shoulder. Bite me enough to draw blood and scar."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Ianto commented.

"Might as well do it right. Believe me, I won't know. Well, I won't feel it much. I'll be in the throws of my heat and there's not much coherence going on there, you know?"

"Okay then. I'll take your word for it."

"I'm...very glad you're not leaving, Ianto..." Ianto smiled at the very un-Jack-like admission.

"I couldn't leave, Jack. Nobody knows the archives like I do. I'll need to groom a successor first anyway. Not leaving you in the lurch like that. Besides, what the fuck would any of you do without my coffee?"

**Reviews welcome as always.**


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